


The Deckhand and the Swan

by nerdywriter15



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Canon Divergence, Deckhand Captain Hook | Killian Jones, F/M, ouat season 4 finale
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-11
Updated: 2017-04-08
Packaged: 2018-10-02 14:54:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10220708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nerdywriter15/pseuds/nerdywriter15
Summary: Set during the Season 4 finale. What would have happened if Emma, Hook, and Henry had had a little bit more time together while stuck in the AU version of the Enchanted Forest?





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! So this is a story that I originally posted on Tumblr and then moved to fanfiction.net. I just created this account, so I wanted to move it over here. The current plan is to post a chapter every Saturday until we get to the end. If you've read it before, welcome back, and if you haven't, thanks for reading!

This is the story of how I died. Oh don't worry, it's a very fun story. One with heroes and villains, a curse and a wedding, and (most importantly) a beautiful princess and her devilishly handsome pirate. But I'm getting ahead of myself. My apologies. Allow me to return to the beginning of this thrilling tale.

It all began, as many of the debacles of my abnormally long life have, with the cowardly imp Rumplestiltskin. He managed to convince himself that the best way to achieve his Happy Ending would be to live it out in a false reality in which bravery and heroism were handed to him on a silver platter. Although obtaining a happy ending in this way might seem impossible to some, he was able to do so with the help of Isaac, the Author.

There have been several individuals to hold the title of Author throughout the centuries. It was a sacred station which required its occupant to record the important events of the many realms that exist in our universe. They did so by using a magic quill of great power; whatever was written using the quill would inevitably come to pass.

However, the power of the quill became too much for Isaac. He used it to create a new reality - a reality in which villains like himself and Rumplestiltskin received their happy endings and where heroes were condemned to suffer without love forever. And that is where our story begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading :)


	2. Chapter 2

It was a quiet night aboard the infamous pirate ship the  _Jolly Roger_ , which sat docked in one of the Enchanted Forest's many port towns. Captain Blackbeard and his crew, who had just returned from an exceptionally fruitful voyage to the realm of Arendelle, had abandoned their ship in favor of the many pleasures that the port had to offer. The pirates had congregated in the largest tavern they could find, and were liberally spending their spoils on food and drink. They talked and laughed loudly without a care in the world.

However, not every member of the crew was joining in the festivities of the night. One of the pirates lay asleep on his back in a small hammock in the corner of the  _Jolly_ 's sleeping quarters. His disheveled raven hair fell into his eyes, and there was a dusting of three-day scruff across the bottom of his face. A faint scar ran up and down his right cheek, and his left hand was missing completely, a jagged scar covering the skin at the end of his wrist. Thick lashes framed his eyes, which remained closed as he turned onto his side and continued his peaceful slumber.

The pirate was not there to guard the ship, as one might have been inclined to believe. Captain Blackbeard was infamous throughout the realm as the most cutthroat pirate in history, and everyone in the land knew that the  _Jolly Roger_  belonged to him. No one had ever attempted to steal his ship, knowing that even if they did manage to obtain it, they would not get far before they were captured and killed by its captain. Even the Evil Queen Snow White's forces left the ship alone.

No, the dark-haired pirate was not there to guard the ship. The pirate was left alone aboard the ship because he was a lowly deckhand who was looked down upon by the crew. He had not received a large enough portion of the spoils to make the trip into town worth it; a humble meal of bread and cheese was all that he would have been able to purchase. Even if he could have afforded grander fare, the other members of the crew would not have welcomed him to sit at their table or share in their merriment. They would have told him to go back to the ship, and the cowardly deckhand would have obeyed as he always did.

During the day the abuse of the crew and his own cowardice haunted the deckhand, and made him wish for a better life, a life in which he possessed bravery and valor. He often found himself daydreaming about what it would be like to challenge Blackbeard to a duel and win. In his mind's eye, he could see himself defeating Blackbeard and taking his precious ship. He could see himself, no longer Deckhand Hook, but Captain Hook, terror of the seas, commanding the  _Jolly Roger_  under a firm yet just hand. Sometimes his musings felt more like memories than dreams, but whenever they began to feel too real, he always pushed them aside. He was a deckhand, a slave to the whims of the  _Jolly_ 's crew, and he would do well to remember it if he wished to survive.

But none of those thoughts haunted the deckhand on this night, for tonight he was dreaming the sweetest dream that his mind had ever managed to conjure. In his dream, he was in the company of a woman - a beautiful woman with hair like the sun and eyes like emeralds. She was looking at him with a look of adoration and - dare he think it? - pure love upon her face. She whispered his name, his real name: Killian. She said it so softly, her voice filled with as much love and tenderness as her eyes. He smiled up at her, running his fingers through her hair, pulling her closer, meaning to close the distance between them and kiss her.  _Swan, my beautiful Swan_ , was the only thought running through his mind as his eyes began to close in anticipation of the kiss.

Just as her lips were about to meet his, he jolted awake, his sky-blue eyes flying open and seeing only the darkness of the room rather than her jade eyes. He took a few deep breaths trying to steady himself and ran his fingers through his already messy hair. He laid back down and closed his eyes, attempting to gain a few more hours of much-needed sleep. The rest of the crew would not be back until later in the day, but he still needed to awaken early in order to make sure the ship was spotless before his captain's arrival.

And yet, he could not keep his mind from drifting back to the woman in his dream, the woman his dream-self had called Swan. He had the craziest idea that he had seen her somewhere before. But that idea was ridiculous. He would have remembered someone like her.

Eventually, after much tossing and turning, he drifted back to sleep, only to be awoken a few hours later to bright sunlight streaming into the cabin. Realizing he had overslept, he bounded out of the hammock and began to dress quickly. Five minutes later, he was on deck, beginning his chores and praying he would have them completed before Blackbeard and his crew returned.

In his agitated state, he gave no thought to the mysterious Swan woman of his dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the love you've been showing this story :)


	3. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for all of the positive feedback! It really does mean a lot!

Killian frantically swabbed the deck, looking over his shoulder every other minute, afraid that he would hear the sound of footsteps and see Blackbeard walking toward him. He shuddered, thinking of what had happened the last time that he had failed to finish his duties before the crew returned from a night out. He had been locked alone in the brig for three days, with only a minimal amount of food and water. He had no desire to relive that experience; the memory of it alone made him that much more determined to finish his work.

He was so focused on the task at hand that he nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard someone on the  _Jolly_ 's deck yell "Ahoy!" For a split second he was afraid that the captain had indeed returned, but quickly realized that the voice was too high-pitched to belong to the fearsome pirate. Standing up and making his way toward the middle of the deck, he saw a young boy - perhaps twelve or thirteen years old - staring straight at him, a glint of relief and - dare he think it? - recognition in his brown eyes.

Looking at the boy, Killian couldn't help but feel that he had seen him somewhere before. As he questioned the lad about his reasons for being aboard the ship, he couldn't keep his thoughts from straying to the woman of his previous night's dream. Why the boy caused him to think of  _her_  of all things, he didn't know. But just as he had a strange feeling that he knew the both of them from somewhere, he had an even stranger feeling that they were somehow connected.

The boy - whose name he would learn was Henry - asked him for help in retrieving his mother from a tower in the Bottomless Sea. While his cowardly disposition initially prevented him from even  _considering_  the journey, the lad's insistence, as well as the fact that he managed to single-handedly knock the realm's most infamous pirate unconscious, swayed him. That and the hope that perhaps the boy's mother - Emma - just might be the woman from his dream.

Several hours later he found himself sailing the  _Jolly Roger_  away from the tower in the Bottomless Sea, having just defeated a dragon ( _a_  dragon,  _bloody hell_ ), and in the company of Emma: the most brilliant lass he had ever met and the spitting image of the Swan in his dream. When she had crashed into him inside the tower, he had literally been knocked speechless. She had stared up at him just as she had in his dream, with love and adoration in his eyes. He had barely been able to get a muttered, "Pleasure," out of his lips before she was rushing out of the tower, leaving him feeling more confused than he had ever been before.

After their celebratory toast of goat's milk - which she had seemed equally disgusted and amused by, muttering a faint, "Of course you are," under her breath when he told her of his rum allergy - he found himself wondering why she would trust him of all people with her life.

"It's complicated," she responded, looking him straight in the eye. "Might take a while."

"My schedule's pretty clear," he said, feeling a strange sense of giddiness and hope rising up in his chest.

"Okay." she said grinning. "Well, the most important thing we've gotta do now is help Regina stop that wedding. And in the meantime we should work on your fighting skills. I'm betting that we'll probably need them. Do you think that maybe there's a place where we can lay low and practice during the two weeks until the wedding?"

Killian had no idea who Regina was or why it was so important that they help her stop a wedding. The latter seemed to be the very epitome of bad form. But laying low definitely seemed like a good idea. Especially knowing that Blackbeard had undoubtedly woken up by now, and was undoubtedly searching for the deckhand who had stolen  _Jolly Roger_  from right under his nose.

"Aye. I know of a cabin in the forest where it is doubtful anyone would find us. We would have to drop anchor about a day's walk away, but the vegetation there is thick which will hopefully keep us from being discovered."

"Great! Also, do you think that you have any other clothes I could borrow? Even if this dress was in better condition, I don't really think that I'll be able to defend myself very well in it."

"Of course, lass," he replied, "just let me get us set on course. Then I'll let your boy take over for a while so that we can go below deck and find something more suitable for you to wear."

As soon as Killian set the course for the cabin, Emma called for Henry to come out from below deck.

"Now, lad, just keep her steady and in this direction," he instructed. "I'll be right back up to take over as soon as we find your mother something more suitable to wear."

Henry nodded back solemnly. "I won't let you down," he said, his tone serious.

Killian smiled softly at the boy and the look of fierce bravery he wore on his face. "I'm sure you won't lad. Your mother and I will return shortly."

He then turned toward Emma. "If you'll just follow me this way, milady, I think we can probably find something that will be to your liking."

He led her below deck and pointed her in the direction of the crew's quarters, allowing her to go first and following behind her as they walked. He had to resist the sudden urge to guide her along by placing his hand on the small of her back. Why he already felt so comfortable with her, he had no idea. Usually he was a blushing bumbling mess around women and avoided them like the plague.

Such thoughts were soon dashed from his mind as they reached the crew's quarters and began the difficult task of finding clothing that would fit her. After searching around the cabin for about ten minutes, he was able to find a belt, vest, and pants that belonged to one of the smaller pirates. While he was unsure as to whether they would fit, they were currently the best option that they had. "I'll just give you some privacy to change, lass," he said, nervously scratching behind his ear. "If you need anything, I'll be above deck," he said, turning to leave.

Just as he was about to step away, she reached out and grabbed his arm. "Thank you, Killian," she said offering him a small smile. "I know all of this must seem crazy to you, and I can't thank you enough for your help."

"Of course, lass," he said, smiling back at her, before turning around and heading back above deck.

As he walked, he contemplated the sense of ease he felt around Emma; he had just met her, and yet it felt like he had already known her for years. Was it really possible that he had known her in a past life? Henry's comment about him being a great teacher, as well as Emma's bemusement at his rum allergy, only seemed to cement the idea in his head. But how could he have forgotten them?

Shaking his head, he made himself re-focus on his current goal: getting them to the cabin, to safety. There would be time for questions later.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 3

A few hours later, they docked the  _Jolly Roger_  near the edge of a creek that fed straight into the forest. There was a small inlet surrounded by trees which provided a fair amount of cover, but even so, Killian suggested that they try to find more foliage to cover the ship with in order to better camouflage it.

As he began to work, Killian couldn't keep his eyes from drifting to Emma who was walking away from the ship in search of more branches. She had looked beautiful in the dress that she had been wearing in the tower, but she somehow seemed even more beautiful in the blue vest and black pants. Her blonde hair was pulled back from her face, and somehow, even though she was wearing clothes that would customarily be worn by a man, the whole ensemble just seemed more right than the dress.  _The only thing missing is her red leather_ , he thought to himself before tensing at the thought.  _Where had that idea come from?_

"Hey, are you okay?" Henry asked him, jarring him from his thoughts. He turned around to see the boy looking at him with concern in his eyes. "You look like you just saw a ghost."

"I'm fine, lad. Just a little jarred by the events of the day."

Henry looked at him, narrowing his eyes like he didn't quite believe him. "You don't have to tell me what's bothering you," he said. "But you can talk to me about it if you want. We're in this together, you know."

Henry turned to leave, but at the last second Killian grabbed him by the arm. "Wait, lad. You're right, something is bothering me. I just…it's just that…I can't remember ever meeting you, either of you, before today. But at the same time, I can't help but feel like I  _know_ you."

At these words, Henry's expression morphed into one of pure elation. "This is great! You're starting to remember! Maybe this means that the Author's magic is already starting to weaken!"

"As happy as your enthusiasm makes me, I'm afraid that I still have no idea what you're talking about, Henry."

"That's okay. I can fill you in!"

As they continued to work, Henry told him about his alternate life, and how it was he, and not Blackbeard, who was the dreaded pirate captain of the  _Jolly Roger_. He told him about how he had worked to become a hero, and how Rumplestiltskin and the Author had tried - and evidently succeeded - in creating an alternate reality in which heroes lost and villains won. While some parts of the tale seemed difficult to believe, he couldn't help but believe what Henry was saying. Every once in a while, Emma would walk by and smile knowingly, but never took part in the conversation.

About an hour later, Henry had come to the end of his story and they had finished covering the ship. The only way someone would have been able to spot it was if they already knew it was there.

"That was indeed a thrilling tale, Henry," Killian said as they gathered provisions for their trek below deck. "But there's one thing that you seemed to leave out: my relationship with you and your mother. I suspect we may be close?"

Henry gave him a knowing smirk. "I'll let my mom fill you in on that," he said as he turned and headed up the ladder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading :)


	5. Chapter 4

It was mid-afternoon when they finally began their journey to the cabin. Killian lead the way with Emma and Henry following a few paces behind him. They seemed to be quite engrossed in their own conversation, which made sense, seeing as they had been apart for quite some time. As much as he would have liked to have joined in their discussion, he sensed that they needed this time together after being separated, and he did his best not to eavesdrop.

As he walked his mind mulled over everything that Henry had — and had  _not_  — told him, specifically his refusal to comment on his relationship with Emma. He wanted to believe that they were close. The way that she had looked at him when she ran into him — he couldn't get that image out of his head. He was almost certain that in the alternate reality he had cared for her and she had cared for him. But he still had trouble believing that someone as bloody brilliant as she could want him of all people: a lowly, cowardly deckhand.

The setting of the sun broke Killian out of his thoughts, and he suggested that they make camp for the night. Half an hour later they had pitched three makeshift tents and were sitting around a fire, eating the food that they had brought with them. As they ate, Emma explained to him — with interjections from Henry every now and then — about the wedding that they had to stop, and how it would hopefully return things to how they should be. While the idea that preventing a wedding was the solution to their predicament seemed nearly impossible, Killian found that he had no doubt in his mind that Emma would succeed.

The sky continued to darken, and as it did, he could see Henry becoming more and more tired. Despite his optimism, it had been a trying day for the lad, and it was beginning to show. After a string of particularly loud yawns, he bade Killian goodnight and embraced Emma tightly before retiring to his tent, leaving them sitting alone by the fire.

They remained in a comfortable silence for a while, the only sounds being those of the fire's crackling and the occasional hoot of an owl. Emma stared into space, her brow furrowed as if contemplating something, and Killian couldn't keep his eyes off her. The light of the fire reflected off of her blonde hair in the most beautiful way, giving her an almost ethereal glow. If she noticed him staring at her, she didn't comment on it, for which he was grateful.

Eventually his thoughts drifted from Emma to Henry, and the bravery that he had shown that day. Killian had always thought of himself as a coward, and could never have imagined himself displaying Henry's courage, especially at such a young age.

"Henry is a remarkable lad," he said, voicing his admiration out loud and breaking the silence of the night."In all my years aboard Blackbeard's ship, I've never seen anyone stand up to him, let alone be successful in doing so."

His words caused Emma's face to morph into a smile: a real genuine smile that reached all the way up to her eyes.

"Yeah, he is," she replied. "He likes to think of me as a Savior of sorts, but he's saved me in more ways than I can count. Even when I was locked up in that tower, I knew that he'd find his way to me. Just like I knew you'd find your way to me."

That caught him by surprise. Emma's comment was the closest anyone had ever come to telling him that they needed — or even  _wanted_  — him in a very long time. He scratched nervously behind his ear, not really knowing how to respond.

Emma seemed to sense his confusion and gave him a kind smile before changing the subject.

"So whose cabin are we going to anyway? Is it yours?"

The question took him aback and he gulped nervously. While he knew that she had been attempting to lighten the mood with her question, it had had the opposite effect. He hadn't talked to anyone about the cabin's owner since, well,  _ever_. He didn't have anyone he would have wanted to tell, and even if he did, he certainly didn't have anyone who would have wanted to listen.

Emma must have noticed the uneasiness on his face because her expression changed from one of unadulterated curiosity to one of worry.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," she said, sounding like Henry had earlier that day. "I was just curious, but if it's too painful — "

"No, no it's not," he said, looking her straight in the eye. When she looked back at him, all he could see was genuine concern written on her features. Even though he had just met her, he felt like he could tell her anything, even one of the most painful stories of his life.

He took a deep breath and began to speak.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you're still liking it :)


End file.
